The owners of four Nebraska beer stores that sell millions of cans of beer each year near a South Dakota Indian reservation are appealing a state regulator’s decision not to renew their liquor licenses.
The appeal filed late Monday in Lancaster County District Court says the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission’s decision last week was arbitrary, unsupported by evidence, and contrary to Nebraska law. The commission cited concerns about law enforcement in the village of Whiteclay, which sits 357 miles northwest of Omaha. The licenses are scheduled to expire on Sunday.
The stores sell beer and malt liquor just 200 yards south of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, which bars alcohol but continues to struggle with fetal alcoholism and one of the lowest life expectancy rates in the Western Hemisphere.
